The Fear Of Striking Out
by snowstargirl
Summary: Miley wreaks havoc on her friends’ lives from across the ocean, and Oliver tries to calm a very nervous Lilly. He may be in for a surprise. This is a Loliver first kiss story.


**Title: The Fear of Striking Out**

_Summary:_ Miley wreaks havoc on her friends' lives from across the ocean, and Oliver tries to calm a very nervous Lilly. He may be in for a surprise. (This is a Lollie first kiss story.)

_Rating:_ K+

_Pairing:_ Oliver and Lilly

_Disclaimer:_ None of the Hannah Montana characters belong to me. I promise. I don't know who owns them but I'm guessing it's Disney. No one is giving me any money for writing this. (But wouldn't that be nice?)

_Author's Notes_: I don't normally write Hannah Montana fics, but this one is for a friend. I hope it's decent. (Please let me know!) Just so you know, in this story, Lilly has never gone out with anyone. It takes place at school.

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The Fear of Striking Out**

"Well I hate to break it to you, Lilly, but someone had to. You like him."

"What?" screamed Lilly Truscott indignantly. She was standing against the wall by the sinks in the girls' bathroom, where she was trying to hide her cell phone from the prying eyes of girls who might turn her in for having it at school.

Her mom had already taken it away once this month after she'd found out that Lilly had taken the phone to school. Lilly didn't want to disobey her mom, but Miley was out of town on a tour, and Lilly wanted to keep in touch with all the "Hannah" news every hour. She'd done a reasonable job of convincing herself that her mother would agree that this was a valid excuse.

Three of the four girls standing at the mirror had turned around when she'd screamed.

"Sorry," she mumbled to the nosy girls, hoping they'd go away. She couldn't believe that Miley was serious. She couldn't really think that Lilly liked Oliver.

The fact that he had been Lilly's secret crush for more than two years made it worse. She'd thought she'd done a good job of keeping it a secret, even from Miley. But maybe she hadn't.

And If Miley actually believed what she was saying, she might tell Oliver… and Lilly was sure he'd never thought of her that way.

Lilly didn't think she could take it if Oliver found out and laughed at her. Her crush had been going on for so long that it had grown into something much deeper, but Lilly held to her secret like a lifeline.

She would rather dream about the Prince Charming Oliver she'd created in her head (the one who would ride her off into the sunset on a skateboard) forever than have her real, bumbling best friend Oliver tell her he wasn't interested in her. He probably didn't even see her as a girl.

She cringed and turned back toward the wall.

"What?" She said more quietly. She was still furious. "Oliver is such a donut. I absolutely don't like him."

Miley laughed. "Whatever, Lilly."

Lilly huffed.

"_I _know you like him, _you_ know you like him..."

"I-" Lilly tried to defend herself.

"At least admit it to yourself."

"I will not."

"Oo-kay." Miley considered. "Well FYI, Donut-boy likes you too. And he knows you like him. You're just too scared to admit it."

This was not entirely true. (While Miley thought it was obvious that Oliver liked Lilly, she figured that he was pretty clueless when it came to the fact that she liked him as well.) However, Miley was on a natural high from having just finished a concert halfway around the world, and wanted her two best friends to be as happy as she was. They were so obvious… Her enthusiasm may have contributed to her slight exaggeration.

Lilly was shocked into momentary speechlessness. When she had recovered, she looked at the phone as though it were Miley.

"What!?!? Did he _tell_ you that?

Apparently Miley wasn't paying attention. Lilly could hear Jackson trying to argue with Mr. Stewart in the background.

"Miley!" She tried to pull her friend back into the conversation. "When did he say that?"

The sound of a candy wrapper being crinkled against the phone irritated her. Thousands of miles away, Lilly didn't see Miley uncross her fingers.

"Listen, I have to go. Oh, I'm losing you… Sorry, Lil…"

Miley's voice faded away, and Lilly scowled at her phone.

"Thanks a lot."

The girls at the mirror were trying to pretend they hadn't been eavesdropping.

Ashley was not so polite.

She walked out of a bathroom stall and smiled nastily. "Sooo, you have a crush on Oliver? Ooo. You do know how many girls he's kissed already, don't you?"

Lilly just blinked. To her knowledge, Oliver had only kissed two girls. She was jealous of them both. She was fifteen and hadn't been kissed at all.

But two wasn't that many more than zero. Even if Oliver did kiss her, she was sure he wouldn't think she was a baby for never having kissed anyone before.

Ashley grinned cruelly. "Yes, Ollie has quite the reputation." She put her hand over her forehead and pretended to swoon. "He has magic lips. All the girls say he's incredible." She looked at Lilly as though she were mud. "Not that you'll ever find out… Besides, if you did he'd be so disgusted he'd never look at you again."

Lilly almost laughed. Ashley had to be making this up. Lilly had actually heard that Oliver wasn't a very good kisser. Only her loyalty to him kept her from proclaiming that to Ashley.

But Lilly secretly wouldn't have minded finding out if Oliver had "magic lips." The Prince Charming Oliver in her mind would never want to kiss another girl after he'd kissed Lilly anyway, and would have loved to practice with her even if he was bad at it. The Lilly in her head would have taught him well.

But the real Lilly had no idea how to kiss anyone.

…And maybe the real Oliver did.

Ashley sneered at Lilly as she paraded out of the bathroom.

Lilly sighed. In her head, she knew that what Ashley was saying wasn't true. But her heart felt trampled.

The door had banged shut behind Ashley by the time Lilly realized she'd been so affected by the thought of Oliver's supposed reputation and his possible disgust at her own kissing ability that she hadn't even replied to Ashley's insults.

"I do not have a crush on Oliver," she announced to the girls at the mirror.

She walked out with as much dignity as she could muster.

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Oliver Oken walked out of his last class of the day and headed to his locker. He opened its door and scowled at his books. Homework should have a limit. After shoving some papers into his locker, he slammed the door shut and went to wait for Lilly.

He was hoping to get some sympathy regarding the ridiculous amount of studying they were going to have to do for Monday's test. Who gave tests on Mondays, anyway?

He lit up when he saw Lilly. But the look on her face told him that something was bothering her.

"Lilly, is something wrong?" He noticed the phone in her hand. "Is it Miley?" Lilly just shook her head at him. She looked like she was trying to read something in his face.

Lilly was trying to decide how hard he would laugh at her if she asked him how many girls he had kissed.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

Oliver relaxed. "Well what is it?"

Nothing from Lilly.

She was trying to seek out his disdain for her in his eyes. She hadn't expected to care so much.

"Hello, Lilly!" Oliver practically shouted.

She didn't respond.

Oliver began to feel a little annoyed. Good grief, what was wrong with her?

He moved closer and she paled considerably. The closer he was to her, the more she wanted him to kiss her. She didn't want to let him see that in her eyes. She couldn't watch him feel sorry for her.

He stepped closer still and she moved backward opposite him, as though they were dancing. Lilly hit the wall.

Oliver smirked. He looked at her, expecting her to come up with a witty remark for her behavior.

But she only looked up at him in wonder. All of his attention was focused on her, and she had never felt so self-conscious around him. Her hair fell into her eyes and she stared at him, unable to speak.

Only marginally aware of what he was doing, Oliver reached out his hand to push the hair out of her eyes, and Lilly stumbled backward. Oliver went from being mildly annoyed to truly concerned, and he reached out a hand to steady her.

"What's up, Lil?" He asked rather nervously.

Lilly glanced at his hand on her shoulder, and felt her body betray her as heat flooded her face. Her entire shoulder tingled pleasantly, and she wanted to relish the feeling. She had always craved his attention.

But just touching her was probably revolting. Oliver had probably had to psych himself out to do that much. She wondered, then, why he was looking at her as though she were beautiful. She hadn't ever seen him look at her that way.

For a split second, Oliver felt the deep sting of rejection. He glanced down at his hand, trying to see what was so fascinating about it. He thought the look on her face meant that she didn't want him touching her but was unsure how to tell him so. He hadn't realized he would want her to want him to touch her. But he did.

He looked up at her to apologize, but she wasn't looking at his face. She was looking at his fingers with something akin to wonder. He was looking at her as though she were beautiful. And while she was trying desperately not to show it, Oliver could feel her shaking.

Stunned, he tried to decipher the fearful look she was giving his hand. Had he hurt her? Was she afraid of him? Oliver was confused. What was up with Lilly?

"Hey, Lilly, _look_ at me."

Against her better judgment, she did so.

And then, very slowly, it dawned on him.

While there was fear in her eyes, he saw that it mirrored his own; it wasn't fear of him; it was fear of being rejected… by him.

Oliver's heart tripped. He hadn't imagined that he would mean that much to her.

He smiled.

"Lil, are you afraid to kiss me?"

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Oliver didn't know what had made him say it. The instant it was out of his mouth, he wished he hadn't. Lilly would think he was so stupid, and she would probably hate him.

But then Lilly blushed.

Oliver barely stopped himself from crowing.

"Are you crushing on me, Lil?" He asked in wonder.

He hadn't meant to mock her, but the lightly teasing tone rubbed Lilly's shattered nerves raw. She looked at her hands and trembled. She wouldn't look at him. He thought she might cry.

Oliver was shocked. He couldn't remember when he'd last seen Lilly cry. She looked like she was suffering some sort of internal struggle.

Oliver wanted to make her feel better, but all he could focus on was how wonderful it felt to know that Lilly liked him. He couldn't believe it. Before he could stop himself, he'd opened his big mouth again.

"How long have you liked me?" He whispered in awe.

There was a sound like a broken sob, and Lilly was mortified to realize that it had come from her throat. Oliver barely caught her hands as she tried to run away. Luckily for him he was blocking her way, and there was nowhere for her to go.

He hadn't meant to sound so conceited. He took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to tell her the truth. He had been so afraid to do it. But he felt her hands shake in his own and watched her desperate attempt to get away, and knew he had to try.

Oliver tried to find his nerve. His hands were so clammy it was a wonder he could hold hers. Taking another breath, he put her out of her misery.

"I like you too," he murmured.

He heard her soft intake of breath and looked up to see silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Slowly, her fingers stilled, and she looked up at him in disbelief.

Utterly captivated, Oliver moved closer.

"Lilly," he whispered, "can I kiss you?"

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She had waited so long to hear Oliver say those words. But she knew she would be a pathetic kisser, and she knew that Oliver would be a fantastic one.

She blushed.

He smiled.

Panicked, she tried to push him off of her. "I, I, uh, I don't think you can."

"Why not?" asked Oliver gently as he laced their fingers together.

But he already knew.

Lilly blushed and tried to move her hands. She felt his thumbs begin to circle her index fingers in a silent effort to relax her.

"I don't know how," she whispered to the floor, when it had become obvious that he wasn't going to let her go.

Oliver gently tipped her chin up. "That's okay, Lil."

He was smiling right into her eyes.

And Lilly noticed that he was blushing, too.

"How many girls do you think I've kissed?" he asked her, embarrassed.

Lilly knew her face was burning.

"Two, Lilly... And I should have waited for you."

She peered up at him through her eyelashes, and he grinned. Lilly smiled to herself.

"You were right, you know. I do have a crush on you," she said softly.

"I want to be the first boy you ever kiss," Oliver whispered.

Lilly blushed to the roots of her hair, but she couldn't look away from him. She wanted to tell him that that was exactly what she'd always wanted; she wanted to thank him; she wanted to ask him to kiss her senseless and drive all of the embarrassment away.

But all she found herself saying was, "Um, oh-okay."

Lilly started to tremble. She wished he would have just done it, rather than asked. It gave her too much time to think.

But Oliver relished every second of her reaction. He squeezed her fingers in reassurance. She gave him a shy smile and gripped his hands harder to steady herself.

She closed her eyes.

Oliver smiled. She looked ridiculous, standing there waiting for him to kiss her. She obviously had no idea what she was doing. He'd never seen her look so nervous. He thought that Lilly Truscott was the most gorgeous girl he'd ever known.

Tilting his head slightly, Oliver leaned in toward her and kissed her. He heard her sigh. Lilly was sure she was in heaven. This was so much better than all of her dreams. She wrapped her arms around Oliver's neck and clung to him. She felt his arms go around her waist.

After a few moments, Oliver felt her tentatively kiss him back. He grinned.

Lilly felt him smile against her mouth and giggled.

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Oliver drew her carefully closer to him, slowly, so slowly that she almost didn't realize he was doing it. When she opened her eyes, Lilly found herself flush against his chest, looking up into his eyes. For a glorious moment, she was lost in them, and then he blinked.

They were suddenly embarrassed, and Lilly tried to pull away. (Oliver held her in place.) How could she have been that close to Oliver and feel so mortified now?

Oliver felt the same way, but he was still floating. He loved the way he could make her blush. He traced a line across her cheek, thrilled that he could have such an effect on her. He would have to do it more often. He loved the way she had admitted her crush on him, as though it had been a special secret. As though she thought he was her knight in shining armor. As though she trusted him in a way she trusted no one else.

He had always felt unworthy of her before. Seeing how much he meant to her was like being given a gift. It was also a huge confidence boost.

"You're beautiful, Lilly," he whispered in her ear.

Seeing her nervousness come back full force, he leaned down to tickle her. She shrieked, and he pulled her to him in a fierce hug. Blushing, he added,

"And, um, you're a great kisser."

Lilly buried her face in his shoulder and smiled.

**The End.**


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